Column: Kids are dying from fentanyl. More prison time for dealers won’t help
1 year, 7 months ago

Column: Kids are dying from fentanyl. More prison time for dealers won’t help

LA Times  

A man living in the Tenderloin section of San Francisco displays what he claims to be the synthetic drug fentanyl. “It’s just really clear now from 50 years of trying to stop the supply, it doesn’t work,” Dr. David Goodman-Meza, an infectious disease doctor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, told me. But “kilo chasing” doesn’t work with fentanyl, Humphreys said, because it is easy to make it anywhere, and so powerful that a little bit can be cut into huge profits. That’s another thing we need to understand about this epidemic: Fentanyl is not a secret poison hidden in illegal drugs by unscrupulous dealers. But “a death is a death,” Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat, told me, whether the life is lost in minutes in a high schooler’s bedroom, or slowly extinguished after years of homelessness.

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History of this topic

A fentanyl antidote is saving lives - but isn't ending the fentanyl crisis
2 weeks, 6 days ago

A fentanyl antidote is saving lives - but isn't ending the fentanyl crisis

Hindustan Times  

* A fentanyl antidote is saving lives - but isn't ending the fentanyl crisis Naloxone credited for sharp drop in overdose deaths in U.S. * Fentanyl remains cheap and plentiful despite availability of antidote naloxone * "Tranq" drugs mixed in with fentanyl may contribute to fewer overdoses, experts say By Maurice Tamman, Shannon Stapleton COLUMBUS, Ohio, - The death toll …

Is America’s opioid epidemic finally burning out?
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Is America’s opioid epidemic finally burning out?

Hindustan Times  

Standing in the bitter cold outside the DeCoach Recovery Centre, a drug treatment clinic on the edge of an ocean of car parking in Hamilton, Ohio, Scott Weaver explains where his life went off track. “People will tell you it don’t because they don’t want to take it, ‘cause they ain’t done yet.” Mr Weaver’s story reflects America’s opioid crisis. …

How Trump’s threats have deepened Canada’s fentanyl fight
4 weeks ago

How Trump’s threats have deepened Canada’s fentanyl fight

Firstpost  

Trump’s threats have pushed Canada to ramp up its fentanyl fight urging stronger border measures and more aggressive action against smuggling US President-elect Donald Trump’s pressure on Canada has made the country take stronger action against its growing fentanyl crisis. Canada’s fentanyl crisis is complex involving local drug production, smuggling from other countries and organised crime. Shift to making fentanyl …

Mexico makes record fentanyl bust days after Trump tariff threat
Trending News
1 month, 1 week ago

Mexico makes record fentanyl bust days after Trump tariff threat

CNN  

CNN — Mexican authorities have announced what they say is the largest fentanyl bust in the country’s history, with over a ton of the synthetic opioid seized in two raids in the cartel-ridden northern state of Sinaloa. “It is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills that has ever been made,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday morning during her daily …

Mexico makes record fentanyl bust days after Trump tariff threat
Trending News
1 month, 1 week ago

Mexico makes record fentanyl bust days after Trump tariff threat

CNN  

CNN — Mexican authorities have announced what they say is the largest fentanyl bust in the country’s history, with over a ton of the synthetic opioid seized in two raids in the cartel-ridden northern state of Sinaloa. “It is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills that has ever been made,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday morning during her daily …

Trump unveils new strategy to stop Americans taking fentanyl – an ad campaign
1 month, 1 week ago

Trump unveils new strategy to stop Americans taking fentanyl – an ad campaign

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I will be working on a large-scale United States Advertising Campaign explaining how bad …

Scapegoating others can't end US' drug crisis: China Daily editorial
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Scapegoating others can't end US' drug crisis: China Daily editorial

China Daily  

US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC on November 13, 2024. US president-elect Donald Trump, who will enter office on Jan 20, plans to raise tariffs by an additional 10 percent on all Chinese goods exported to the United States, citing fentanyl abuse as the reason, which he …

Trump's promise to fix the fentanyl crisis appealed to voters and alarmed experts
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Trump's promise to fix the fentanyl crisis appealed to voters and alarmed experts

NPR  

Trump's promise to fix the fentanyl crisis appealed to voters and alarmed experts toggle caption Orange County Register/MediaNews Group via Getty Images Over the last four years, as street fentanyl overdose deaths surged, the Biden administration scrambled to fund addiction treatment programs and expand use of opioid-treatment medications like buprenorphine and naloxone. "You know, I'd like to end the drug …

A ‘miracle molecule’ could cut fentanyl deaths in half — or lead more into addiction
4 months ago

A ‘miracle molecule’ could cut fentanyl deaths in half — or lead more into addiction

Politico  

But the proposal faces opposition from the health care providers with the most intimate knowledge of methadone treatment: methadone clinic directors. “The idea that a physician in private practice without support staff … that they’re going to be able to treat a complex medical problem like the use of fentanyl, is just not substantiated,” said Mark Parrino, president of the …

A gunshot, a murdered rival and a kidnapped drug lord: Mexico’s ruling party faces growing scandal
4 months, 3 weeks ago

A gunshot, a murdered rival and a kidnapped drug lord: Mexico’s ruling party faces growing scandal

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — It was strange and surprising when Mexico’s most-wanted drug lord landed at an airfield near El Paso, Texas in July, but the story of how he got there is now growing into a scandal that threatens top figures in Mexico’s ruling party. On Thursday, federal prosecutors said Sinaloa state officials mishandled evidence in an apparent attempt to …

Drug overdose deaths in the US decreased in 2023, for the first time in five years
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Drug overdose deaths in the US decreased in 2023, for the first time in five years

CNN  

CNN — After a steep rise during the Covid-19 pandemic, preliminary data shows that drug overdose deaths in the United States ticked down in 2023 for the first time in five years. “This progress over the last 12 months should make us want to reinvigorate our efforts knowing that our strategies are making a difference,” CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. …

The head of Mexico’s detective service says his country is the ‘champion’ of fentanyl production
8 months, 2 weeks ago

The head of Mexico’s detective service says his country is the ‘champion’ of fentanyl production

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — The head of Mexico’s detective service acknowledged Tuesday that the country is “the champion” of fentanyl production, something that appears to run counter to past statements by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. But Felipe de Jesus Gallo, the head of Mexico’s Criminal Investigation Agency, said that since the 1990s “Mexico has been the champion of methamphetamine production, …

Mexico, a leading producer of illicit fentanyl, can’t get enough for medical use, study finds
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Mexico, a leading producer of illicit fentanyl, can’t get enough for medical use, study finds

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — A report released by the Mexican government Friday says the country is facing a dire shortage of fentanyl for medical use, even as Mexican cartels pump out tons of the illicit narcotic. Nonetheless, Mexican cartels appear to be having no problem importing tons of precursor chemicals and making their own fentanyl, which they smuggle into the United …

Some D.A.s are fighting fentanyl with murder charges. Why San Francisco will join them
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Some D.A.s are fighting fentanyl with murder charges. Why San Francisco will join them

LA Times  

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, right, with Dist. In an October statement announcing the initiative, Breed said people selling the synthetic opioid are “on notice that pushing this drug could lead to homicide charges.” Jenkins said the effort would make it easier to hold dealers “accountable for the true dangerousness of their conduct.” It’s a remarkable shift in rhetoric and …

Fire extinguishers used to smuggle fentanyl in from Mexico, DOJ alleges
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Fire extinguishers used to smuggle fentanyl in from Mexico, DOJ alleges

LA Times  

Seventeen people have been charged in an alleged drug smuggling scheme in which fentanyl and other drugs were brought from Mexico to Los Angeles. Fentanyl was smuggled into Los Angeles from Mexico inside of fire extinguishers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which charged 17 people in the scheme. After crossing the border, the trucks involved in the smuggling …

Opinion: ‘Just say no’ can kill kids. Teach them how to stay safe in the fentanyl era
11 months, 1 week ago

Opinion: ‘Just say no’ can kill kids. Teach them how to stay safe in the fentanyl era

LA Times  

Melanie Ramos was only 15 years old when she died of a suspected overdose in a high school bathroom in Hollywood. In a new analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine, we found that fatal overdoses among U.S. teens aged 14-18 hit an all-time high in 2022. Programming should also help teens recognize the signs of an overdose and …

‘It’s absolutely heartbreaking’: Fentanyl is officially Los Angeles County’s deadliest drug
1 year ago

‘It’s absolutely heartbreaking’: Fentanyl is officially Los Angeles County’s deadliest drug

LA Times  

In 2022, fentanyl was linked to more overdose deaths in L.A. County than meth for the first time in recent years. “It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” said Amanda Cowan, executive director of Community Health Project Los Angeles, which provides services to people who use drugs. “In the case of race/ethnicity, Black people account for 8% of the population, and disproportionately accounted for …

As Pacific Northwest fentanyl crisis surges, officials grapple with how to curb it
1 year ago

As Pacific Northwest fentanyl crisis surges, officials grapple with how to curb it

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Inslee's office said part of his proposed supplemental budget …

What's fentanyl, the opioid at the centre of Biden-Xi talks, which led to 70,000 deaths in US?
1 year, 1 month ago

What's fentanyl, the opioid at the centre of Biden-Xi talks, which led to 70,000 deaths in US?

Firstpost  

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more so than heroin. On the sidelines of the APEC Summit, US leader Biden and China’s Xi Jinping agreed that Beijing would take action to stop the influx of fentanyl, that killed 70,000 people in the US last year On Wednesday, US president Joe …

Massachusetts: Heart-shaped pills laced with fentanyl seized and 3 arrested in drug bust worth $8 million
1 year, 2 months ago

Massachusetts: Heart-shaped pills laced with fentanyl seized and 3 arrested in drug bust worth $8 million

CNN  

CNN — Three men were arrested and authorities seized over 220 pounds of controlled substances in a major drug bust earlier this month that included pink fentanyl-laced pills shaped like hearts, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release. Of an estimated 10 million doses seized, 8 million were “doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine …

Some GOP candidates want to use force against Mexico to stop fentanyl. Experts say that won’t work
1 year, 3 months ago

Some GOP candidates want to use force against Mexico to stop fentanyl. Experts say that won’t work

Associated Press  

MIAMI — Ron DeSantis wants suspected drug smugglers at the U.S.-Mexico border to be shot dead. Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Mexico’s leader of treating drug cartels as his “sugar daddy” and says that if he is elected president, “there will be a new daddy in town.” Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 nomination and long the person who …

What’s fentanyl, and why have deaths due to drug overdose spiked in the US?
1 year, 3 months ago

What’s fentanyl, and why have deaths due to drug overdose spiked in the US?

Al Jazeera  

In 2021, two-thirds of drug-related overdose deaths in the US were linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Although fentanyl is approved for medical use, especially in pain management, more than 150 people in the US die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Fentanyl overdose deaths in the US More than 106,000 people died of a drug …

US announces sweeping action against Chinese fentanyl supply chain producers
1 year, 3 months ago

US announces sweeping action against Chinese fentanyl supply chain producers

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration took aim Tuesday at the fentanyl trafficking threat, announcing a series of indictments and sanctions against Chinese companies and executives blamed for importing the chemicals used to make the deadly drug. “And we know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China.” Besides …

Portland police are investigating nearly a dozen fentanyl overdoses involving children, with 5 fatal
1 year, 3 months ago

Portland police are investigating nearly a dozen fentanyl overdoses involving children, with 5 fatal

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Ore. — Nearly a dozen children, including a 1-year-old, have overdosed on fentanyl since June in Portland, Oregon, its police bureau said Thursday, intensifying alarm in a city like so many others that has struggled to address the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history. A 1-year-old, 2-year-old, 5-year-old and two 15-year-olds are among the dead, the Portland Police Bureau …

Oregon Gov. Kotek directs state police to crack down on fentanyl distribution
1 year, 3 months ago

Oregon Gov. Kotek directs state police to crack down on fentanyl distribution

Associated Press  

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she has directed state police to launch new strategies aimed at disrupting the fentanyl supply chain and holding sellers of the frequently deadly drug accountable. The plans include increasing and reallocating state police staff to local drug enforcement teams, holding trainings with the Oregon Department of Justice to address potential biases …

Families of those killed by fentanyl gather at DEA as US undergoes deadliest overdose crisis
1 year, 3 months ago

Families of those killed by fentanyl gather at DEA as US undergoes deadliest overdose crisis

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. About 150 people from families …

Families of those killed by fentanyl gather at DEA as US undergoes deadliest overdose crisis
1 year, 3 months ago

Families of those killed by fentanyl gather at DEA as US undergoes deadliest overdose crisis

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Andrea Thomas had never heard of fentanyl when her daughter died after taking half of a pill she thought was prescription medication. Five years later, she’s among hundreds of thousands of families who have lost a loved one as the U.S. undergoes the deadliest overdose crisis in its history. prevention is going to be our strongest asset.” In …

Commentary: Pharmacies selling fentanyl-laced pills are deadly tourist traps in Mexico
1 year, 6 months ago

Commentary: Pharmacies selling fentanyl-laced pills are deadly tourist traps in Mexico

LA Times  

Medications are lined up on shelves in a pharmacy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A warning appeared on Tripadvisor on May 25, 2020: “Cabo pharmacies selling fentanyl laced pills.” The person posting under the moniker Spreadingfacts wrote, “My brother passed away last year after buying pills at a pharmacy in Cabo.” Over several posts, the writer said their brother died after …

A deadly new street drug caught the U.S. off guard. Experts say it'll happen again
1 year, 6 months ago

A deadly new street drug caught the U.S. off guard. Experts say it'll happen again

NPR  

A deadly new street drug caught the U.S. off guard. Experts say it'll happen again Enlarge this image toggle caption Kris Craig/The Providence Journal/USA Today Network via Reuters Kris Craig/The Providence Journal/USA Today Network via Reuters Public health and law enforcement agencies around the U.S. are scrambling to blunt the impact of xylazine, a deadly new threat to Americans who …

Homeless people fight to save lives, and stay alive, as L.A.’s fentanyl crisis worsens
1 year, 7 months ago

Homeless people fight to save lives, and stay alive, as L.A.’s fentanyl crisis worsens

LA Times  

Next to a row of tents covered with blue tarps on Skid Row, Jasmine Paredes watched a friend scribble a message on a lamppost with a pink Sharpie: L.A. — Fenty is #1 killa — may God help us all. I later crawled across the street to my friend’s tent and slept for another two days.” The Sidewalk Project — …

Fentanyl: The new face of the US war on the poor
1 year, 7 months ago

Fentanyl: The new face of the US war on the poor

Al Jazeera  

The US government is trying to blame the fentanyl crisis on drug trafficking but it is a disaster of its own making. At an April 14 news conference in Washington, DC, Drug Enforcement Agency chief Anne Milgram sounded the alarm about the country’s latest appointed public enemy number one: four Mexican guys known as “Los Chapitos”, the sons of imprisoned …

‘No child should be dying’: Fentanyl-related deaths among kids rising, Yale study says
1 year, 8 months ago

‘No child should be dying’: Fentanyl-related deaths among kids rising, Yale study says

LA Times  

Fentanyl-related deaths among children increased more than 30-fold between 2013 and 2021, illustrating the opioid crisis’ unrelenting impact across the United States, according to a study by the Yale School of Medicine. The study tracked data for more than two decades of opioid deaths among people under 20 and found that 5,194 children and teens have died from fentanyl. “The …

13 arrested in connection with fentanyl-laced drugs that led to fatal overdoses
1 year, 8 months ago

13 arrested in connection with fentanyl-laced drugs that led to fatal overdoses

LA Times  

A sheriff’s deputy stands in front of a photo of fentanyl-laced pills during a 2021 announcement in Los Angeles of federal charges against suspected drug dealers. Thirteen people suspected of selling fentanyl-laced drugs that caused at least a dozen fatal overdoses in Southern California have been arrested, federal authorities said Tuesday. One of the men arrested, Dominick Kingdiamond Alvarado, 22, …

Fentanyl-related deaths among children increased more than 30-fold between 2013 and 2021
1 year, 8 months ago

Fentanyl-related deaths among children increased more than 30-fold between 2013 and 2021

CNN  

CNN — Fatal overdoses involving fentanyl have surged in recent years in the US and new research shows that deaths among children have increased significantly, mirroring trends among adults. There were about 1,550 pediatric deaths from fentanyl in 2021 – over 30 times more than in 2013, when the wave of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids started in the US. …

Sons of Mexico’s El Chapo: We don’t make fentanyl — or feed victims to tigers
1 year, 8 months ago

Sons of Mexico’s El Chapo: We don’t make fentanyl — or feed victims to tigers

LA Times  

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, head of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, is escorted at Mexico City’s airport after his capture in 2016. “We are victims of persecution and have been made into scapegoats.” Those are among the assertions in a startling letter to the media from “Los Chapitos,” sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — the notorious ex-kingpin of the Sinaloa cartel …

Republican senators say solving the opioid epidemic requires more than just fighting fentanyl
1 year, 8 months ago

Republican senators say solving the opioid epidemic requires more than just fighting fentanyl

Raw Story  

WASHINGTON — Officials from Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations came to the U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday to answer questions about fentanyl, drug trafficking, and transnational crime. "We should" talk about it, Cornyn said when asked about the opioid crisis that led to many overdose deaths long before fentanyl was being put in heroin, meth and other …

Editorial: Haven’t we learned yet? Harsher penalties won’t save us from fentanyl
1 year, 8 months ago

Editorial: Haven’t we learned yet? Harsher penalties won’t save us from fentanyl

LA Times  

Narcan is now available without a prescription to reverse opioid overdoses. People who think they’re buying fake Percocet may ingest xylazine and die from it without ever knowing they were putting horse tranquilizer in their bodies. Street teams to help people in overdose crisis, testing to ensure supplies aren’t tainted, clinics to help former users recover, community support, employment, education, …

Nevada lawmakers the latest to debate harsher fentanyl laws
1 year, 9 months ago

Nevada lawmakers the latest to debate harsher fentanyl laws

Associated Press  

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A Nevada state Senate committee heard two bills on Monday that could make it the latest state to significantly reduce the amount of fentanyl possession eligible for trafficking charges in response to the largest overdoses crisis in U.S. history. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro’s bill gives illicit fentanyl its own substance category and prosecutes “knowingly …

US approves sale of overdose reversal drug without prescription
1 year, 9 months ago

US approves sale of overdose reversal drug without prescription

Al Jazeera  

The decision comes as a bid to widen access to the life-saving drug as the US struggles with a wave of overdose deaths. The United States has decided to make Narcan, a life-saving medication that can reverse drug overdoses, accessible without a prescription as the country reels from an ongoing opioid addiction crisis. In a statement on Wednesday, the US …

As fentanyl deaths surge in California, lawmakers kill bills that would punish dealers
1 year, 9 months ago

As fentanyl deaths surge in California, lawmakers kill bills that would punish dealers

LA Times  

As thousands of Californians die each year from drug overdoses fueled by fentanyl, a bitter fight has emerged in Sacramento over how lawmakers can hold dealers accountable without refilling state prisons and waging another “war on drugs.” On one side of the debate are Republicans and moderate Democrats calling for stronger criminal penalties for dealers who sell the deadly drug, …

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties
1 year, 9 months ago

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

Associated Press  

RENO, Nev. — State lawmakers nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl and other powerful lab-made opioids that are connected to about 70,000 deaths a year. That’s what’s driving some lawmakers to crack down with harsh penalties, along with adopting measures such as legalizing materials to test drug supplies …

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties
1 year, 9 months ago

With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. That's what's driving some lawmakers to crack down with …

Lack of hugs caused US fentanyl crisis, Mexico’s leader says
1 year, 9 months ago

Lack of hugs caused US fentanyl crisis, Mexico’s leader says

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president said Friday that U.S. families were to blame for the fentanyl overdose crisis because they don’t hug their kids enough. The comment by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador caps a week of provocative statements from him about the crisis caused by the fentanyl, a synthetic opioid trafficked by Mexican cartels that has been blamed for …

Mexican president floats fentanyl ban, faults US drug policy
1 year, 9 months ago

Mexican president floats fentanyl ban, faults US drug policy

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president called anti-drug policies in the U.S. a failure Wednesday and proposed a ban on using fentanyl in medicine — even though little of the drug crosses from hospitals into the illegal market. But López Obrador said he would ask doctors and experts whether all use of fentanyl by doctors could be ended, as well, to …

Federal lawmakers call for travel advisory about fentanyl in pills at Mexican pharmacies
1 year, 9 months ago

Federal lawmakers call for travel advisory about fentanyl in pills at Mexican pharmacies

LA Times  

Testing is done on an Adderall pill in Cabo San Lucas. Congressional lawmakers are calling on the State Department to issue a travel advisory warning Americans that some Mexican pharmacies are passing off counterfeit pills made of fentanyl and methamphetamine as legitimate pharmaceuticals. U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey and Rep. David Trone sent a letter Friday to Secretary of State …

Amid mounting security tensions, Mexico’s president says fentanyl is a U.S. issue
1 year, 10 months ago

Amid mounting security tensions, Mexico’s president says fentanyl is a U.S. issue

LA Times  

Mexican security officers prepare a search mission Monday for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen near the border. As investigators continued their search for the gunmen who kidnapped four Americans in the border city of Matamoros last week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lashed out at U.S. Republican lawmakers who have proposed sending troops into Mexico, telling them that …

Biden’s fentanyl position sparks criticism from 2 sides
1 year, 11 months ago

Biden’s fentanyl position sparks criticism from 2 sides

Associated Press  

President Joe Biden’s calls in his State of the Union speech for strong criminal penalties in response to soaring deaths linked to the potent opioid fentanyl are being rebuked by harm reduction advocates who say that approach could make the problem worse, even as some in Congress jeered the comments and blamed the Democrat’s border policies for deepening the crisis. …

The complicated — and dangerous — economics of Mexican fentanyl
1 year, 11 months ago

The complicated — and dangerous — economics of Mexican fentanyl

LA Times  

For decades, Mexican cartels have made big money trafficking drugs. “In 2015, they changed the law to make it a little easier in theory, but it seems like doctors are still relatively reluctant to prescribe.” But even if prescribed oxycodone is difficult to come by, as Shover pointed out, “You don’t need a prescription to make a fentanyl fake.” Aside …

The fear-mongering narrative around fentanyl has eerie parallels to the crack epidemic
1 year, 11 months ago

The fear-mongering narrative around fentanyl has eerie parallels to the crack epidemic

Salon  

Fentanyl seems to have a strange grip on the public mind these days, as breathless narratives around this drug are everywhere. Helping people is more humane and less expensive than another drug war Misinformation about fentanyl abounds, and basic facts can be hard to come by given how the mainstream news narrative rarely questions the idea that merely looking at …

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